# Brazil had 411 exploration blocks under contract at end-September > Brazilian petroleum regulator ANP’s September report, released on 15 October, records 411 exploration blocks under contract and 25 discovery assessments in progress as of 30 September. Four exploratory wells had begun drilling since the start of 2026. - Canonical URL: https://newsverum.com/en/news/brazil-anp-september-2026-exploration-contracts-well-starts - Publisher: Newsverum - Section: Energy - Country: Brazil - Published: 2026-10-16T10:36:23+00:00 - Updated: 2026-10-16T10:36:23+00:00 - Event / data period: 2026-09 - Other editions: [Türkçe](https://newsverum.com/tr/news/brazil-anp-september-2026-exploration-contracts-well-starts.md), [العربية](https://newsverum.com/ar/news/brazil-anp-september-2026-exploration-contracts-well-starts.md), [Français](https://newsverum.com/fr/news/brazil-anp-september-2026-exploration-contracts-well-starts.md), [Español](https://newsverum.com/es/news/brazil-anp-september-2026-exploration-contracts-well-starts.md), [Deutsch](https://newsverum.com/de/news/brazil-anp-september-2026-exploration-contracts-well-starts.md), [Português](https://newsverum.com/pt/news/brazil-anp-september-2026-exploration-contracts-well-starts.md) One exploratory well began drilling in September and one was completed; no new discovery notifications or commerciality declarations were recorded that month. The report’s 19 wells and US$888 million of investment envisaged for 2026 are expectations, rather than completed drilling or actual expenditure totals. ## Data ### Exploration activity As of 30 September 2026 Methodology: Directly transcribed from ANP; contracted blocks and ongoing assessments are stocks. Well starts cover January–September; actual counts are separate from full-year expectations. | label | value | unit | period | basis | period_start | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | Exploration blocks under contract | 411 | count | 2026-09-30 | observed | | | Discovery assessments in progress | 25 | count | 2026-09-30 | observed | | | Exploratory well starts, January–September | 4 | count | 2026-09-30 | observed | 2026-01-01 | Sources: · Download data: [JSON](https://newsverum.com/api/v1/articles/brazil-anp-september-2026-exploration-contracts-well-starts/data/source-record?lang=en&format=json) · [CSV](https://newsverum.com/api/v1/articles/brazil-anp-september-2026-exploration-contracts-well-starts/data/source-record?lang=en&format=csv) ## Sources - [ANP, Superintendência de Exploração]() (Source checked: 2026-10-16; Published: 2026-10-15) --- Cite the canonical URL above. [Editorial standards and corrections](https://newsverum.com/en/editorial)